This was Ashley’s first time getting to photograph these friends of friends of hers. You might not be able to tell in the photos, but y’all… Their morning shoot was COLD! There was thick, icy frost on the ground, but that did not slow these big brothers down from exploring all over the park. They stayed warm running around looking for wildlife in between being wrangled for family pictures with their precious baby sister and their awesome mom and dad. It may have been a cold one, but this family shoot was also a super fun one thanks to these energetic kiddos…

It has been YEARS since Ashley did a themed mini shoot moment like this, so she wanted to try some things out for this one. She went with two different locations for the Christmas-themed shoot day because, honestly, she wasn’t sure what would work best. Ashley was feeling the pressure of picking holiday decorations that lots of different people would appreciate the style of. That is tough, y’all!… But she totally nailed it!

What a great time Becca had with this crew for their 2021 Fall Short Stories! This group was mostly annual regulars with the exception of one new family (hello, Millers!). Becca also got to photograph one of Ashley’s regulars for the first time and it was so fun! After worrying all week about the weather, the rain never came and the slightly cloudy day worked out just fine for these fall mini shoots! This was the first time Becca shot at this new, tiny park she discovered near North Hills in Raleigh. Needless to say, she’ll be heading back there more because it worked so well and the backdrops were perfect!

Y’all, we absolutely feel so blessed to see these same faces each year! What an honor to be trusted over and over again! ❤️

The Abresch family are regulars around here. We’ve had the joy of photographing their wedding, their first newborn, family minis, and now their newest addition… Baby J! Baby sister M, who is not-so-baby-anymore, is so sweet with her baby brother. We’ve found that when you’re doing a newborn shoot with an older sibling around this age, you have to keep patience and good humor on hand at all times. You just never know what’s going to happen next and have to be ready to capture those sweet moments as they come. Baby J’s nursery is just the cutest! How much do we love that wallpaper?! The woodland theme made the whole space feel cozy and fun. The perfect space for this little guy to grow up!

Toward the end of last year, Becca had the pleasure of meeting this cute trio and capturing their family Christmas portraits. They had the best time exploring the grounds of the North Carolina Museum of Art together.

Pro tip: When you’re shooting toddlers, keep it moving and keep it fun! Sunny, James, and little gentleman H did just that! The Banks family snuggled, played, and gave me lots of sweet interactions to capture for their family shoot. Also, can we talk about how adorable they all look in their winter-themed sweaters?! We can’t get enough!

Last year, when we did our pandemic pre-sale special for the 2020 Fall Short Stories, we discovered we had a good amount of interest in a Durham mini shoot afternoon. It was really cool to add a new location like that after all those years of holding fall mini shoots in Raleigh. Ashley had both new and returning clients for this shoot day in Durham. It was so fun to have a different set up for this afternoon of minis that we decided to have another fall mini shoot day in Durham for this year's Fall Short Stories!